Screen door or window



J. L. CARRIGAN SCREEN DOOR 0R WINDOW Dec. 16

Filed July 5, 1923 Fig.1

Patented Dec. 16, 1924.

umrsn STA JE'ssE' LQCARRIGAN, or BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

SCREEN noonon wrnnow.

Application filed Jilly 5,

7 0 all whom it mag/ concerns Be it knownthat I; Jesse L. CARRIGAN, a citizen of the United States of' Atnerica,.residing at Birmingham, in' the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama; have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Screen Doo-rso'r l/Vindows, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to an improvement in screen doors or windows which'are provided with'meansto permit the escape of flies and insects throughsuit-able guarded top apertur'es; thus 'permitting the insects to-pass out of a room or enclosure.

One object ofmy invention is to design such a'scr'een door or window with aview to reducing the added cost ofmanufacture to I the lowest possible point while providing cross bars or plates adapted both'to'inter lock with and'support the free edges of the screen wire and also to reinforce the top corner joints ofthe door or window frame.

A further object is'to so design the screen door or window that an opaque spaced back ing is provided in a novel and economical manner behind the outlet openings so as to afford a darkened background which *will reduce to a minimum the probability of in sects entering the room through the escape openings. This arrangement isof particular importance at night Where the light shining unobstructedly through the openings would tend to attract insects; mosquitoes and the like and causethem to enter the room-or enclosure; 1

My invention further comprises the novel details of constructionand"arrangements of parts, which in their preferred embodiment only are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front view of a screen door equipped with my improved arrangement of screen wire, the molding being broken away to show how the top perforated plate reinforces the corner joint.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

I have illustrated my invention as embodled in a screen door but the door construction is typical of a screen window. As showm the door comprises side bars or vertical members 1 and a top cross bar or mem 1923. Serial No: magma:

her 2, the latter bar being rabbet'ed to leave a shoulder 3 under hung along the inside bottom'edge of the top member 2. The'side members are similarly rabbeted to form shoulders 4' and thus a recessed seat is providedmarginally about the frame which receives the screen'elemenlts which are applied as follows. A short transverse width of screen wire 5 is reinforced by: having bent about its" lower edge a metal strip 6-and' its upper edge isfolded into the joint 7 which connects "it to the bottom edge ofa relatively narrow metal plate 8'; the upper edge of which is placed upon the shoulder 3 and the recessed upper ends of the shoulders 4. A filler strip-Sis laid across'the topedge of the plate 8 and side filler strips 10 are set in the recessforine'd at the top of'theshou'h der4 of each side 1. The bottom reinforcing plate 6 lies'against the inner wall of this recess on each side and the filler block is sha-ped to receive and'holdwthe'plate 8, joint 7 and plate-6 firmly in place and to lie flush withtheshoulders h I' superpose on the filler bar 9 and the'upper edges of'the filler bars 10 a p-latell; similarto. the plate 9, except that-"it"is provided with a seriesof apertures-12 in its intermediate portion; The lower edge of" the plate 11 is folded into a joint" 13 whichreceives' and interlocks it to the free upper edge of the-main'screen wire 14. A molding 15 is 1 broken" around the frame in the marginal seat" and serves" tohold'the main screen 14in place, nails being driven through this molding and through the outer plate 11, the filler blocks 9 andlfi and theinn'er plate'S'in-to the shoulders 3' and- 4; thusfirmly and rigidly interlocking the wire supporting members" in the frame and at the same time providing metallic corner braces for the upper corners of the frame. The plates 8 and 11 are preferably of substantially equal width and it thus follows that the inside plate serves as an opaque background behind the openings 12 Which will prevent an insect from without seeing light through these openings and having any inclination to enter therethrough. Moreover it causes the openings 12 to be much more visible to the insect which has passed up be tween the spaced screens 5 and 14. and come between the plates and will thus facilitate its escape through the openings 12.

My screen frame attachment is very simply constructed is economical does not materially affect the appearance of the door or window, materially increases the strength and salability of the same, and at the same time gives a very strong and firm mounting for the free edges of the screen sections 5 and 14. While I prefer to use the backing plate 8 as a separate metallic element, my invention contemplates the provision of this backing by any suitable means which will leave sufficient clearance between it and the openings in the main outer screen with ref erence to which it serves as an opaque background.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of the embodiment of the invention herein shown, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto, as changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A screen frame having an outer sheet of foraminous' material provided at its upper edge with exit openings for the escape of insects, an inner imperforate opaque wall spaced inwardly from and depending vbelow that portion of the outer foraminous sheet in which the exit openings are provided, and a foraminous apron extending downwardly from said inner wall and adapted to form an open bottom trap between it and the outer foraminous sheet.

2. A screen door or window frame in accordance with claim 1, in which said apron is formed by a narrow strip of foraminous material which is interlocked with and extends downwardly from the lower edge of said imperforate wall in spaced parallelism with said outer foraminous sheet.

3. A screen door or window comprising a frame having an outer sheet of screen wire, a top plate connected to the upper edge of said wire and extending across the frame, a second imperforate metallic plate spaced inwardly from said first mentioned plate,

a main outer screen mounted on the inner Wallsof the recess and filler block, there being openings provided in the outer screen opposite said inner screen and spaced therefrom. I

5. A screen door or window comprising a frame having a marginal rabbet on one side only, a main outer screen and its retaining molding mounted in said rabbet, a top plate interlocked with the top edge of said screening and seated in the upper portion of said rabbet, a recess in the inner wall of said rabbet extending from near the top of each side across the top thereof and part way down the sides, a short transverse screen section having a narrow bottom plate and a wide top plate connected with its bottom and top edges respectively, said plates and inner screen being seated in said recess filler blocks to fill out said recess and fa-stenings extending through the molding, filler blocks and both plates to secure the same to the frame,there being insect escape openings provided in the top plate only of the outer screen.

6. A screen door or window frame in accordance with claim 5, in which said plates at their edges form reinforcements for the upper corners, being attached to the side and top members at each corner joint.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JESSE L. OA RR IGAN. Witness: NOMIE WELSH. 

